Quantum Cosmology Claus Kiefer1 and Barbara Sandh¨ofer2 1 Institut f¨ur Theoretische Physik, Universit¨at zu K¨oln, Z¨ulpicher Straße 77, 50937 K¨oln, Germany.
[email protected] 2 Institut f¨ur Theoretische Physik, Universit¨at zu K¨oln, Z¨ulpicher Straße 77, 50937 K¨oln, Germany.
[email protected] Summary. We give an introduction into quantum cosmology with emphasis on its conceptual parts. After a general motivation we review the formalism of canonical quantum gravity on which discussions of quantum cosmology are usually based. We then present the minisuperspace Wheeler–DeWitt equation and elaborate on the problem of time, the imposition of boundary conditions, the semiclassical approxi- mation, the origin of irreversibility, and singularity avoidance. Restriction is made to quantum geometrodynamics; loop quantum gravity and string theory are discussed in other contributions to this volume. To appear in Beyond the Big Bang, edited by R. Vaas (Springer, Berlin, 2008). Denn wo keine Gestalt, da ist keine Ordnung; nichts kommt, nichts vergeht, und wo dies nicht geschieht, da sind ¨uberhaupt keine Tage, kein Wechsel von Zeitr¨aumen. Augustinus, Bekenntnisse, 12. Buch, 9. Kapitel 1 Why quantum cosmology? Quantum cosmology is the application of quantum theory to the universe as a whole. At first glance, this may be a purely academic enterprise, since quan- arXiv:0804.0672v2 [gr-qc] 22 Apr 2008 tum theory is usually considered to be of relevance only in the micoroscopic regime. And what is more far remote from this regime than the whole uni- verse? This argument is, however, misleading.